The equatorial electrojet (EEJ) is a narrow band of intense electric current that flows along the dip equator in the day side ionospheric E region with peak current density at an altitude of around 105 km.
Cause
Electrical conductivity of the partially but significantly ionized upper atmosphere of the Earth is anisotropic due to the presence of Earth’s magnetic field. In the ionospheric E region, movement of electrons in response to an electric field is influenced by the geomagnetic field, whereas for the heavier ions, collisions with neutral particles have much greater influence. This difference in the behavior of electrons and ions gives rise to a large Hall conductivity in the E region. Atmospheric tides, driven mainly by solar heating, cause the neutral atmosphere to undergo global-scale daily oscillations, which set the electrically conducting fluid in the ionosphere into motion thereby generating an electric field in the E region due to dynamo action in the presence of the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsBibiliography
Forbes, J. M., 1981. The equatorial electrojet. Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, 19, 469–504.
Lühr, H., Maus, S., and Rother, M., 2004. Noon-time equatorial electrojet: Its spatial features as determined by the CHAMP satellite. Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, A01306, doi:10.1029/2002 JA 009656.
Pfaff, R. F., Acuña, M. H., Marionni, P. A., and Trivedi, N. B., 1997. DC polarization electric field, current density, and plasma density measurements in the daytime equatorial electrojet. Geophysical Research Letters, 24, 1667–1670.
Rastogi, R. G., 1989. The equatorial electrojet. In Jacobs, J. (ed.), Geomagnetism. San Diego: Academic, Vol. 3, pp. 461–525.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bhattacharyya, A. (2011). Equatorial Electrojet. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_155
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_155
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8701-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-8702-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences